The Road to 40 Day 248/365: The Boys Day One and Food Tripping

Che is off to Indonesia for the week, so it’s just Vino and me starting today.

She was still able to say goodbye to Vino in the morning before we left for school. After I dropped Vino off, I was on my way to Tampines for a Carousell errand for my aunt.

I told the person last Friday that I will come by Monday at around 10am. However, as I was on my way, the person said I must come earlier than 10am because they had to leave the house. I felt this information should have been relayed to me last Friday, but I don’t make it a habit to complain to a seller whose goods I am really interested in.

Since it didn’t make sense for me to book a cab to buy their stuff on the cheap, I told the person that I’d just go tomorrow.

To make the most of my time outside, I decided to walk over to Maxwell Food Centre.

This place is one of the most popular hawker centers in the city. Unlike Newton or East Coast Park, though, this one doesn’t overcharge a lot. There’s a popular chicken rice stall here that has a Michelin Bib Gourmand and a lot of them are run by second or third generation owners, which means the flavors haven’t changed since their brands were introduced.

I wasn’t in the mood for chicken rice just yet, so I tried to see if I could find something else. I saw a line forming at this fishball noodle stall, so I went back to it.

For 6SGD, they had this fishball soup and noodles on the side. I think it’s great value for money. Taste-wise, I’d say it’s not revolutionary, but it’s something you’re going to miss when it’s no longer readily available for you.

Long lines usually mean the food is really good, but I realized by the time I got to the end that it’s mainly because it’s a two-person operation. The auntie takes orders and preps service while the uncle cooks the noodles.

I was filled, but I thought I won’t be back at Maxwell anytime soon, so I decided to go for another snack. I saw this authentic Turkish stall that had meats grilling and I wanted to try it earlier.

Initially, I wanted to eat it as I walked, but when the guy asked if I was going to eat there, I just decided to stay and eat it comfortably.

I love shawarma, but after trying several authentic stalls here in Singapore and in Vietnam, I realized what I really love is the Philippine version of shawarma. I asked my friend who lived in the Middle East for a chunk of his life if the garlic yogurt sauce is part of the authentic experience, and I was told that it was not. It’s tzatziki, or maybe garlic sauce (too strong), or yogurt sauce (too sour), but not yogurt and garlic as a combined sauce.

This one was enjoyable, but I guess still not the shawarma taste I’ve grown to love.

I went home to rest a bit. I wanted to be more productive but the sofa had other plans. Combine that with the fact that I was really full from my brunch, I just put on some wrestling and fell asleep.

Later, I picked Vino up from school. He had football club this day, so I picked him up a little later than usual.

When we got home, he asked for a snack that Che made for him back in the PH – peanut butter and banana sandwich. He ate it as we watched Mr Beast videos on Amazon Prime.

For dinner, I prepared the Tropical Beef. It’s my take on the Quick Fried Beef of Tropical Hut. There are no recipes available online of that particular dish, so I took elements of various quick-fried beef recipes and made my own. It’s become one of his most favorite home meals, but Che isn’t too big of a fan.

I think I’m improving on the flavor profile now, so maybe she’ll have a change of heart the next time she tries it.

We watched Stranger Things while eating. We’re on season 3 now, but it’s taking a while for us to move along as he wants to watch it, but he doesn’t want to watch it at night.

After dinner, we headed to the room to sleep.

He said he didn’t want to watch Stranger Things before sleeping, so we went back to Mr Beast. Che finally reached the city she needed to go to after plenty of delays, so she gave us a quick call to say goodnight.

Vino removed his glasses shortly after and tried to sleep already. It was a smooth first day with just us boys at home.